The District 233 school board approved a new three-year contract with the Homewood-Flossmoor Education Organization, giving HFEO members an average annual increase in total compensation of 3.94 percent.
The agreement covers 199 teachers and 37 instructional staff at Homewood-Flossmoor High School.
The package was approved on Sunday, June 3, at a special board meeting. The vote was 6-0. Member Beth Larocca was absent.
The board and HFEO representatives said a collaborative and comprehensive process was used to reach the agreement. Jodi Bryant, director of public relations and human resources, has said the district uses an interest-based negotiations model that both negotiation teams learned in training sessions at Harvard University. This style of negotiation has put aside the rancor that was typical of past contract talks.
“The HFEO would like to share that we are committed to the interest based negotiation process that we have utilized for the past four contracts, including the past three that I have personally been a part of,” said Dana Noble, president of HFEO. “We began the negotiation process in December and collaborated for many hours until reaching an agreement in the middle of May. Our dedication to the process resulted in an agreement that is fair, equitable and addresses the interests of all parties involved.”
In its last three-year contract approved in May 2015, the district teachers won a 2.7 percent salary increase with teachers picking up more of the insurance expenses.